Gearing



B. C. WHITE.

GEARING.

APPLICATION F|LED MAY5, |920.

Patented Aug. 8, 1922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

' B. C. WHITE.

GEARING.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 5, 1920.

l ,425, 304. yPatented Aug. 8, 1922,.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BRUCE CLARK WHITE, OF NEW YORK,`1\T. Y., `ASSIGrN'OR TO FEDERAL ELECTRICCOMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

GEARING'.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 8, 1922.

Application led May 5,.4 1920. Serial No. 379,011.

To aZ whom yz'z may concern:

Be it known that I. BRUCE CLARK IVHITE, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of New York city, in the county of New York and State ofNew York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gearing;and I do hereby declare that the following is a full,` clear, and exactdescription thereof, refeience being had to the accompanying drawings,and to the letters of reference marked thereon. which form a part ofthis specification.

This invention relates to improvements in Gearing, and consists of thematters hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in theappended claims.

The improved gearing is of especial advantage for use in connection withwashing machines of the oscillating cylinder type and it is hereinillustrated and described as applied to such a machine, but as it isapparent, the improved gearing may be used in other machines where itspeculiar characteristics make it advantageous to do so.

The' advantages of the improved gearing will be more apparent as Iproceed with my specification.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a view in front end elevation of anoscillating cylinder washing machine to which the improved gearing hasbeen applied. i

Figure 2 is a transverse, horizontal sectionv through the front endl ofthe washing machine, the plane of the section being indicated by theline Q--Q of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is/,a vertical detail section on an enlarged scale. the planeofthe section being indicatedr by the line'3-3 of Figurel.

Figure l is another vertical detail section on an enlarged scale` theplane of the section being indicated by the line l-et of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a longitudinal section through a slip clutch embodied in thedrive shaft of the washing machine. Y

Referring now in detail to that embodiment of the invention illustratedin the accompanying drawings 5 indicates the main support for thegearing, which as illustrated herein, is the frame of a washing machineof the oscillating cylinder type. Said frame includes a tub 7 which ismounted at its corners upon front and rear pairs of upright legs, onlythe legs 6 of the front pair being shown in this instancc. Said frontpair of legs are connected together at their top and bottom ends in the`usual manner, so as to brace the frame as a -cylinder of course havinga door in its top wall, for access thereto. Above the center of gravityand on the front wall of said cylinder, which is spaced a shortdistance' inwardly from the front end wall 8 of the tub, is fixed abearing plate 10a, capable of a de. tachable operative engagement withthe inner end of a horizontal, power driven, rotary oscillating stubshaft 11 (see Fig. 4), which projects through said front wall in axialalignment with the bearing trunnion atthe rear end of the tub. Thecompartment 9 is adapted to be closed at its front end by a door 12hinged to one of the front legs 6. In this compartment, as beforementioned, is located the power driven gearing which imparts theoscillatory movement to the cylinder 10, and which also actuates Jasecond mechanism such as a 'clothes wringer.

15 indicates an irregularly-shaped bracket plate which is located withinthe compartment 9 at about its middle part. Said bracket includes acentral upright body part 16, arranged arallel with but spaced outwardlya short distance from the frontwall .8 of the tub, and having ahorizontal bottom fla-nge 17, an arm 18 which projects 'laterally fromthe bottom part of said Abqdy front leg 6, said hollow boss having an L.sliaped, upright corner Harige 20 (see Figs.

2 and 3) which fits in and is secured to said left hand front leg. Thehollow boss 19 extends into a plane below that of the Web 17 beforementioned, to there terminate in a substantially shallow, horizontallydisposed well 21, the open top of said boss being closed byfa coverplate 22.

At the top end of thev body 16, on its'vertical median line, areprovided longitudinallyl spaced, front and rear bearing sleeves 24 and25, respectively, (see Figs.'2 and 4). The stub shaft 11 before referredto, is journaled in the rear bearin sleeve 25 while a second alignedstub shalfyt 26, made integral with a segmental gear 27, is journaledin' the front bearing sleeve 24, the segmental gear`27 being arranged ina plane in front of said bearing sleeve. Each stub shaft includessquared parts 11a and 26a respectively, which abut each other and on thesquared part 11a is fixed a clutch member 28 by means of a pin 29. Fromthe construction just mentioned, it is apparent that while the stubshaft 11 has rotative bearing l in the sleeve 25, it cannot move endwisev na'lly toothed, large gear segment 37, Shas' by means of whichthereon, and to prevent leakage at this point, where said stub shaft 11extends through the front wall of the tub, I provide a comressiblegasket 30 about said stub shaft,

etween the rear end of the sleeve 25 and the front face of the. wall 8of the tub. On the squared part 26a of the stub shaft 26, which 1s theoperating shaft, is a clutch collar 31,

rotative with said shaft part but movable endwise' thereon, into and`out of engagement with the clutch member 28 with which it isassociated. Said clutch collar has a peripheral groove 31a between itsvends in which a clutch shifting member extends for the purpose ofshiftingsaid collar, endL wise on the squared part of the `operatingshaft 26. A .pin 32 passes through said operating shaft, in back of thebearing 24 in a manner preventing endwise movement of said shaft.

In the horizontal plane of the operating shaft 26 and preferably to theright hand side thereof, the body 16 of the bracket 15 is provided 'witha forwardly projecting stud 35 upon which the hub 36 of an interbearing,the teeth of said internal segmental gear meshing with the teeth of thesmaller segmental Tgear 27 madeintegral with the stub'shaft 26. Saidlarger segmental gear 37 'has a forwardly projecting crank pin 38 it isactuated, to impart a. rota-ry .oscillating movement to thesegmentalgear 27. l

The open top hollow boss 19 has a longitudinally extending stub shaft40, which is arranged in a plane parallel with but below and to the lefthand side of' the aligned shaft parts 26 and 11 respectively. f On thisshaft 40 which extends forwardly from the rear upright wall of saidboss, is rotatively mounted a large worm gear 41 carrying a crank pin 42on its front side, which crank pin isconnected by a pitman or link 43 tothe crank pin 38 on the large segmental gear 37. A suitable opening 44(see Fig. 3) 1s provided in the cover 22 through which said pitmanextends. A i Y The worm gear 41 meshes with the top of and is driven bya worm 46 fixed to a horizontal shaft 47, arranged below and at a rightangle to the shaft 40. This shaft 47 has bearing in the end walls of thewell 22l and it is connected by a slip clutch or coupling 48 (see Fig.5) to the armature shaft 49 of an electric motorvO, hung in an invertedposition from they underside of the bottom flange 17 of the bracket 15.Said slip clutch includes a collar 51 fixed in the shaft 47, having arounded toothhub 52 that bears within a shell 53, said shell and collarbeing secured together by screws 54.` The armature shaft 49 projectsinto said shell and has a squared end 55 which extends into a roundedtooth clutch collar 56. A coiled spring 57 surrounds that part of thearmature shaft 49 within the shell 53 and. engages at its ends betweenthe end wall of said shell and said clutch collar 56, to normally holdsaid collar in engagement with the hub 52. Should the shaft 47 lbe heldagainst rotation for any reason, said clutch 48 will automaticallydisconnect the driving connection between the shafts 47-49, as forinstance, when the shaft 47 is given an overload resistance. Thusinstead of breaking any parts subjected to -the overload,y the clutch 48will slip, returning to its normal engaged position after the overloadhas been relieved.`

In a vertical plane between that of the shaft 40 and the adjacent frontleg 6, and in a plane in front of the axis of the worm 46,

is an upright shaft 60, which has bearing at 105 s its bottom end in asleeve 61 rising from the bottom wall of the well- 21. Said shaft hasbearing near its top end in a sleeve 62 fixed near that top corner ofthe machine frame near the Secured to -said shaft near its bottom endwithin' the xwell 21 isa small worm gear 63 which meshes with the frontside of the.

front leg 6 before mentioned. 110

worm 46. The shaft 60 also extends through the. same slot I44 in thepitman 43. The hollow boss 19vand the well 21 are adapted to cant wforthe "various worm gears therein, there bein also provided in said well,suitable end t The top end of the upright shaft 60 extends into asuitable gear box 65, located in a plane above the top ofthe washingmachine, and to said gearbox is secured a clothes' wringer 66 whichzontal plane about the shaft 60 as'an axis into the desired position andlocked therein by the hand Wheel 67. The gear box 65 which includes acover 68, contains the reverse gears for the rolls of the wringer, 130

cover 22 as does the 11.5

hold a suitable lubrii rust bearings for the worm l46. 120

may be swung in a horihandle 69.

As before stated, the clutch collar 31 on the squared shaft part 26a iscapable of being moved into and out ofengagement with the associatedclutch member 28 on the squared shaft part 11a and the means for soshifting said clutch collar is as follows:

indicates a transversely extending rock shaft which is arrangedsubstantially 1n the plane of the operating shaft 26, before mentioned.Said rock shaft is journaled at its inner end in a-bearing 71 providedtherefor on the top end of the bracket body 16, and at 'its outer end ina rearwardly extending arm 72 made integral with the top end of theupright L-shaped corner fiange 20 of said bracket 15. The inner end ofsaid rod is bent to provide an offset crank arm 73 which extends intothe groove 31a in the clutch collar 31. To the outer end of saidrock-shaft and adjacent the arm 72 is fixed a bell crank lever 75 (seeFig. 3) having a substantially upright arm 76 and a substantiallyhorizontal arm 77. The top end of the arm 76 has a handle 78 whichprojects outside of the frame so that it may be easily grasped by theoperator. Pivoted to the end of the arm y 77 is a pin 79 which hassliding bearing at its free end in an ear 8O made integral with the arm72 in the horizontal plane of said rock shaft. A coiled expansion spring81 surrounds said pin between its head and the ear 80, so that saidspring always acts to swing the end of the arm 77 in a plane above orbelow that of said rock shaft, tlie limits ofI movementof said armcorresponding with the engaged and fully disengaged positions of saidclutch members 31 and 28. Thus, when the handle 78 is actuated theclutch 31 is moved endwise on the squared shaft part 26a, into and outof engagement with the clutch member 28.

The operation is as follows :-`With the motor 50 driving the shaft 47through its slip clutch coupling 18, a rotative movement is imparted tothe worm 46. which in turn drives continuously both the big worm gear 41on the horizontal shaft Ll() and the smaller worm gear 63. onvthe bottomend of the upright shaft 60. As the gear -llis thus driven. it willthrough the crank pin #12, pitman 43 and crank pin 38 on thel large gearsegment 37, rook said gear segment about its axis pin 35. This rockingmovement of the gear segment, is imparted to the smaller gear segment 27and operating shaft 26, as will be. apparent and to the cylinder throughthe stub shaft '11. according of Acourse,.to the engagement ordisengagement between the clutch collar 31 and clutch member 28. It isapparent that with the upright shaft 60 being driven continuously, thewringer 66 may be brought into and out of operation at the will of theoperator or the rolls thereof stopped, started or caused to run ineither direction by manipulation of the handle 69, which controls theoperation of the lgears in the gear box 65.

By t e construction above described, an even, smooth oscillation isimparted to the clothes cylinder, and this is carried out by acomparatively few number of parts which are so constructed as to obviateany possibility of the clothing of the operator becoming caught therein.Furthermore, both the oscillating movement of the cylinder and the drivefor the wringei are taken from off the same worm which is fully enclosedwith its associated worm gear and pinion, in a casing holding alubricant. bath, so that proper lubrication of these parts are insured,as well as reducing the noise thereof to a minimum.

All of the gearing may be readily assembled upon tlie bracket 15 beforethe same is bolted to the legs 6.

vhile in describing my invent-ion, I have referred to certain details ofmechanical construction and arrangement of parts, I do not wish to belimited thereto except as may be pointed out in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention 1. In combination with a support, a horizontaloperating shaft journaled therein, an externally toothed segmental gearfixed onr said operating shaft, an internally toothed segmental gearjournaled on an axis at one side of and in substantially the horizontalplane of said operating shaft, a horizontal drive shaft located in aplane below and extending transversely with respect to said operatingshaft, a worm connected to said shaft, a worm gear journaled on an axisparallel with but below and spaced on one side of the vertical plane ofthe operating shaft said worm gearv meshing with said worm, and a pitmanconnecting said worm gear with said internally toothed segmental (rear.

C, 2. In combination -with a support, a horizontally disposed operatingshaft journaled therein, an externally toothed segmental gear fixed tooneend of said operating shaft, a secondary operating shaft aligned withand adapted to be connected with and disconnected from the other end,ofsaid operating shaft, an internally toothed segmental gear journaledon an axis at one side of and in substantially the horizontal plane ofthe operating shaft, a horizontal drive shaft located in a plane belowand extending'transversely with respect to said operating shaftga wormon said driving shaft, a worin gear journaled on an axis parallel withbut below and spaced on one side of the vertical plane of the operatingshaft said worm `gear meshing with said worm, and a pitman connectingsaid worin gear with said internally toothed segmental gear. l

3. In combination with a-support having a hollow boss including a well,a horizontally disposed drive shaft journalled in said well, ahorizontally disposed worm connected to said shaft,.two worm gearslocated in planes at a right angle to each other, each meshing with saidworm, one of said gears being located in said well and the other beinglocated in said hollow boss, an oscillating operating shaft connected tothe worm gear in said boss, and a second continuously rotating shaft.connected to the`other worm gear in said well.

4. In combination with a support having a hollow boss including a well,a, horizontally disposed drive shaft, a worm on said drive shaft, avertically disposed worm gear and a horizontally disposed worm gear, lo

said well and extending at right angles to' said operating shaft, a wormon said shaft, a worm gear in said hollow boss rotative about an axisparallel with the operating shaft and meshing with the top of the worm,means connecting said worm gear with said operating shaft fortranslating 4the rotary movement of said worm gear intoa rotaryoscillating movement ,of lsaid operating shaft, an upright shaft, havingbearing at shaft,a,worm on ,said shaft,'a worm gear the bottom end insaid wellt anda worm gear on the bottom end of said upright,

shaft within said well, meshing with one side of the worm.

6. In combination with a support having a hollow boss including a well,a horizontally disposed operating shaft journalled in the support abovethe boss, a horizontally disposed shaft journalled in said well Yand*extending at right angles to said operating in said hollow bossrotativeabout an axis parallel with the operating shaft and meshing with, thetop of said worm, means connecting said worm gear with said operatingshaft for translating the rotary movement of said worm gear into arotary,;oscillating movement of said joperating shaft an upright shaft,having bearing at the bottom end in said well, a worm gear on the bottomendof said upright shaft within said well meshing with one side of saidhorizontally disposed worm, a motor depending from said support andhaving an armature shaft in linewith said Worm gear shaft, and anoverload slip clutch between said worm shaft and armature shaft.

. 7. In combination with a support having gear a pair of legs andincluding an end wall spaced from said legs, a bracket plate" mounted inthe space between said legs and said end wall, an operating device insaid `support, an operating shaft in said bracket plate and adapted tobe connected to and disconnected from said operating device, a segmentalgear on said operating shaft, a second segmental gear journaled on thebracket plate and meshing with the first mentioned segmental gear, -ahorizontally disposed driven worm journaled in the bracket plate in aplanebelow and extending transversely with respect to said operatingshaft, fa worm gear rotative about a horizontal axis, parallel with theoperating shaft, and driven' by said worm, and. a pitman connecting saidworm gear with said second segmentall gear.

8. In combination with a supporthaving` `a pair of legs and including anend wall spaced from said legs, a -bracket plate mounted in the spacebetween said legs and said end wall, said bracket plate comprising anupright central body part with a hollow boss at one side thereof and alaterally extending arm on the other side thereof, said) boss and armbeing fixed to said'legs, an oscillating, operating shaft, including asegmental gear jou'rnalled on the `top end of said central body part,and two parallel stubshafts carried by said bracket plate, one of saidstub shafts being fixed in said central body part and the other -beingfixed in said hollow boss, a worm gearon the stub shaft in said boss, a'driving lworm in a well included in saidfhollow boss and meshing withsaid worml gear, a segmental gear on the other stub shaft onthe centralbody part, meshing with the like gear Yonthe operating shaft, and apitman connecting said worm gear and said segmental gear on the saidstub shaft.

In testimony that I- claimthe foregoing as my invention, I affix mysignature in the presence of two witnesses, this 27th day of April, A.1920.- I

BRUCE CLARK vi Witnesses: l

JOSEPH IsAAos MARY A. Fos'rnn.

